Spectacular reservoir house designed for Dinos Chapman has been listed for sale
In its heyday the Fairbourne Reservoir was capable of storing 500,000 gallons of rainwater.
Now, converted into a spectacular, industrial home by one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, the property has gone up for sale for £2.95m with The Modern House estate agents.
For the price tag you get plenty of space. The 6,431 sq ft house is set in six acres of grounds in the Kent village of Harrietsham, some eight miles east of Maidstone.
The disused 1930s reservoir was decommissioned in the 1980s and converted in 2012 by the artist Dinos Chapman and his former wife, knitwear designer Tiphaine de Lussy.
To create the house tonnes of earth was stripped from its edges, exposing its original walls. The house was built within.
Its five bedrooms are on the ground floor of the building, overlooking a 25m lap pool which runs around the property like a moat, along with a 50ft open plan black and timber kitchen and living room with polished concrete floors.
Upstairs, in a glass pavilion, there is an office, library, and extra living room, with a wrap-around terrace offering views of the North Downs.
The current owner of the property is Greg Falzon, 48, who works in investment for a renewable energy company. He and his wife thought the pared-back building would be a perfect family home to raise their sons, now aged ten and 12. According to the Land Registry it was sold in 2017 for £2m.
“We loved the juxtaposition between this raw, industrial building that had worked hard, and the modern interventions and fine joinery,” said Falzon. “It is great in the summer when you have all the doors open and are in and out of the pool. In the winter it is very dramatic because you have got long, uninterrupted views and feel very connected with the outdoors and the weather.”
During his tenure Falzon has remained true to Chapman's minimal interior vision, although he has upgraded some aspects of the property – upping security and introducing home automation.
He has also begun renting the house out as a filming location. As well as two episodes of Black Mirror it has featured in The 355, a 2022 spy thriller with an ensemble cast led by Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz.
“We let it out for about a week a year, and it is great because it more than covers the running costs of the house,” said Falzon.
The property has been on sale a number of times in recent years, most recently last summer when it was listed for £3.25m. Falzon is selling the house to fund a new property project – building a new family house in London.
Dinos Chapman, a Turner Prize nominee, has collaborated with his brother Jake since 1991. The Chapman Brothers are best known for controversial works including a project incorporating original watercolours by Adolf Hitler, and mannequins of children with models of genitalia in place of facial features.
Chapman now lives in Los Angeles with his actress partner Lucy Punch, star of new BBC series Amandaland.
